Housing starts for March 2024

Ottawa, April 16, 2024

The total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 7% in March (242,195 units) compared to February (260,047), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The six-month trend in housing starts decreased 1.6% from 247,971 units in February to 243,957 units in March. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

The actual number of housing starts across Canada in urban centres of 10,000 population and over was up 16% to 17,052 units in March compared to 14,756 units in March 2023. The year-over-year increase was driven by higher multi-unit starts, up 19% and higher single-detached starts, up 2%.

March’s actual housing starts were 10% and 15% higher year-over-year in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, because of higher multi-unit starts, while single-detached starts decreased. Montreal’s actual starts decreased 1%, dragged down by lower multi-unit starts.

Key facts:

The monthly SAAR of total urban (centres 10,000 population and over) housing starts decreased 7%, with 220,743 units recorded. Multi-unit urban starts decreased 8% to 180,229 units, while single-detached urban starts decreased 4% to 40,514 units.
The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 21,452 units.
Total SAAR housing starts were up 27% in Vancouver, driven by an increase in multi-unit starts. Toronto and Montreal declined 26% and 5%, respectively due to decreases in multi-unit starts.
Monthly Housing Starts and Other Construction Data are accessible in English and French on our website and the CMHC Housing Market Information Portal.
Housing starts data is available on the eleventh business day each month. We will release the March housing starts data on May 15 at 8:15 AM ET.
CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and to obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as the multi-unit segment largely drives the market and can vary significantly from one month to the next.
Definitions and methodology to better understand the foundations of the Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys.

As a trusted source of housing information, CMHC provides unbiased housing-related data, research, and market information to help close knowledge gaps, and deepen understanding of complex housing issues to inform future policy decisions. Housing starts facilitate the analysis of monthly, quarterly, and year-over-year activity in the new home market. The data we collect as part of our Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys helps us obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply and is used as part of our various housing reports.

CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to all levels of governments, consumers and the housing industry.

For information on this release:

To request an interview with a CMHC economist, contact:
Media Relations, CMHC
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

March housing starts in Canada — all areas

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	%	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	%	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	%
N.-L.	10	8	-20	2	1	-50	12	9	-25
P.E.I.	7	1	-86	7	54	##	14	55	293
N.S.	92	88	-4	139	482	247	231	570	147
N.B.	19	17	-11	42	34	-19	61	51	-16
Atlantic	128	114	-11	190	571	201	318	685	115
Qc	224	293	31	1,575	1,959	24	1,799	2,252	25
Ont.	1,102	916	-17	4,690	4,606	-2	5,792	5,522	-5
Man.	110	117	6	496	247	-50	606	364	-40
Sask.	56	76	36	158	164	4	214	240	12
Alta.	698	1,000	43	1,311	2,122	62	2,009	3,122	55
Prairies	864	1,193	38	1,965	2,533	29	2,829	3,726	32
B.C.	399	266	-33	3,619	4,601	27	4,018	4,867	21
Canada (10,000+)	2,717	2,782	2	12,039	14,270	19	14,756	17,052	16

Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC
## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Metropolitan Areas)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	%	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	%	Mar. 2023	Mar. 2024	%
Abbotsford – Mission	20	8	-60	13	144	##	33	152	361
Barrie	45	43	-4	33	4	-88	78	47	-40
Belleville – Quinte West	3	13	333	4	1	-75	7	14	100
Brantford	21	20	-5	33	0	-100	54	20	-63
Calgary	341	532	56	753	1,228	63	1,094	1,760	61
Chilliwack	9	7	-22	0	125	##	9	132	##
Drummondville	8	20	150	37	32	-14	45	52	16
Edmonton	282	370	31	525	792	51	807	1,162	44
Fredericton	7	6	-14	4	0	-100	11	6	-45
Greater / Grand Sudbury	5	0	-100	4	0	-100	9	0	###
Guelph	3	4	33	255	6	-98	258	10	-96
Halifax	41	50	22	123	445	262	164	495	202
Hamilton	19	35	84	46	17	-63	65	52	-20
Kamloops	3	13	333	8	2	-75	11	15	36
Kelowna	62	16	-74	207	379	83	269	395	47
Kingston	13	6	-54	15	9	-40	28	15	-46
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	97	53	-45	58	75	29	155	128	-17
Lethbridge	5	9	80	0	2	##	5	11	120
London	32	42	31	164	507	209	196	549	180
Moncton	1	2	100	2	14	##	3	16	433
Montréal	61	72	18	757	738	-3	818	810	-1
Nanaimo	13	2	-85	9	1	-89	22	3	-86
Oshawa	47	24	-49	32	78	144	79	102	29
Ottawa – Gatineau	129	113	-12	1,155	594	-49	1,284	707	-45
Gatineau	30	15	-50	103	149	45	133	164	23
Ottawa	99	98	-1	1,052	445	-58	1,151	543	-53
Peterborough	17	13	-24	0	0	-	17	13	-24
Québec	44	29	-34	239	520	118	283	549	94
Red Deer	3	6	100	2	2	-	5	8	60
Regina	5	19	280	70	74	6	75	93	24
Saguenay	3	23	##	11	29	164	14	52	271
St. Catharines – Niagara	56	43	-23	40	80	100	96	123	28
Saint John	5	6	20	0	0	-	5	6	20
St. John's	10	4	-60	2	1	-50	12	5	-58
Saskatoon	50	51	2	61	88	44	111	139	25
Sherbrooke	12	18	50	118	134	14	130	152	17
Thunder Bay	0	1	##	0	24	##	0	25	##
Toronto	402	352	-12	2,780	3,142	13	3,182	3,494	10
Trois-Rivières	6	3	-50	41	31	-24	47	34	-28
Vancouver	193	117	-39	2,823	3,339	18	3,016	3,456	15
Victoria	28	30	7	297	429	44	325	459	41
Windsor	14	22	57	34	22	-35	48	44	-8
Winnipeg	97	103	6	436	234	-46	533	337	-37
Total	2,212	2,300	4	11,191	13,342	19	13,403	15,642	17

Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC
## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) (Provinces — 10,000+)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	%	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	%	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	%
N.L.	631	319	-49	67	13	-81	698	332	-52
P.E.I.	60	41	-32	120	648	440	180	689	283
N.S.	1,639	1,682	3	10,388	5,838	-44	12,027	7,520	-37
N.B.	1,095	871	-20	3,998	560	-86	5,093	1,431	-72
Qc	5,442	5,071	-7	29,992	30,709	2	35,434	35,780	1
Ont.	10,707	12,526	17	74,024	57,297	-23	84,731	69,823	-18
Man.	1,895	1,768	-7	2,496	2,964	19	4,391	4,732	8
Sask.	1,023	1,166	14	1,824	1,968	8	2,847	3,134	10
Alta.	14,800	13,495	-9	32,789	25,137	-23	47,589	38,632	-19
B.C.	4,554	3,575	-21	39,766	55,095	39	44,320	58,670	32
Canada (10,000+)	41,846	40,514	-3	195,464	180,229	-8	237,310	220,743	-7
Canada (All Areas)	53,937	52,047	-4	206,108	190,152	-8	260,047	242,195	-7

Data for 2023 and 2024 based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: CMHC
## not calculable / extreme value

Housing Start Data — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) (Metropolitan Areas)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	%	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	%	Feb. 2024	Mar. 2024	%
Abbotsford – Mission	76	101	33	672	1,728	157	748	1,829	145
Barrie	569	836	47	96	48	-50	665	884	33
Belleville – Quinte West	397	404	2	840	12	-99	1,237	416	-66
Brantford	251	310	24	96	0	-100	347	310	-11
Calgary	6,983	7,244	4	14,568	14,736	1	21,551	21,980	2
Chilliwack	210	81	-61	210	1,500	##	306	1,581	417
Drummondville	112	199	78	444	384	-14	556	583	5
Edmonton	5,757	5,329	-7	14,496	9,504	-34	20,253	14,833	-27
Fredericton	370	322	-13	0	0	-	370	322	-13
Greater / Grand Sudbury	##	##	##	##	##	##	##	##	##
Guelph	40	53	33	1,152	72	-94	1,192	125	-90
Halifax	930	1,047	13	10,044	5,340	-47	10,974	6,387	-42
Hamilton	243	498	105	2,292	204	-91	2,535	702	-72
Kamloops	261	257	-2	108	24	-78	369	281	-24
Kelowna	437	227	-48	3,720	4,548	22	4,157	4,775	15
Kingston	330	169	-49	192	108	-44	522	277	-47
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	227	582	156	1,776	900	-49	2,003	1,482	-26
Lethbridge	267	247	-7	96	24	-75	363	271	-25
London	301	643	114	2,304	6,084	164	2,605	6,727	158
Moncton	252	323	28	2,016	168	-92	2,268	491	-78
Montréal	1,134	1,153	2	9,334	8,788	-6	10,468	9,941	-5
Nanaimo	160	20	-88	48	12	-75	208	32	-85
Oshawa	375	289	-23	720	936	30	1,095	1,225	12
Ottawa – Gatineau	1,214	1,693	39	6,300	7,128	13	7,514	8,821	17
Gatineau	638	261	-59	1,296	1,788	38	1,934	2,049	6
Ottawa	576	1,432	149	5,004	5,340	7	5,580	6,772	21
Peterborough	146	194	33	0	0	-	146	194	33
Québec	548	381	-30	3,360	6,240	86	3,908	6,621	69
Red Deer	13	123	##	1,992	24	-99	2,005	147	-93
Regina	196	318	62	744	888	19	940	1,206	28
Saguenay	599	986	65	264	348	32	863	1,334	55
St. Catharines – Niagara	1,040	755	-27	1,044	960	-8	2,084	1,715	-18
Saint John	361	221	-39	1,416	0	-100	1,777	221	-88
St. John's	445	234	-47	24	12	-50	469	246	-48
Saskatoon	771	727	-6	1,056	1,056	-	1,827	1,783	-2
Sherbrooke	349	302	-13	216	1,608	##	565	1,910	238
Thunder Bay	1,014	929	-8	0	288	##	1,014	1,217	20
Toronto	3,684	4,260	16	52,944	37,704	-29	56,628	41,964	-26
Trois-Rivières	122	87	-29	1,560	372	-76	1,682	459	-73
Vancouver	2,002	1,652	-17	30,792	40,068	30	32,794	41,720	27
Victoria	384	338	-12	2,928	5,148	76	3,312	5,486	66
Windsor	175	367	110	48	264	450	223	631	183
Winnipeg	1,639	1,528	-7	2,340	2,808	20	3,979	4,336	9